Equipment vest



p 1958 E. w. PETYERSON ETAL 2,853,709

EQUIPMENT VEST 2 Sheets-Shet 1 Filed Nov. 19, 1956 INVENTORS EDWARD W PETERSON $90K H HUTCHINSON e w i ATTORNEY Sept. 30, 1958 Filed Nov. 19, 1956 E. W. PETERSON ET AL EQUIPMENT VEST 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTORS EDWARD W PETERSON 130K H HUTCHINSON ATTORNEY 2,853,709 EQUIPMENT vEsr Edward W. Peterson and JackHrHutchinson, Portland, Oreg.

Application November 19, 1956, Serial No. 623,104

3 Claims. (G. 2-51) This invention relates .in general to vests and similar garmentshaving as their main purpose the supplying of means whereby an assortment-of relatively small articles, such as could comprise an equipment kit for specific use out of doors, can be carriedgeasily and in such manner as to be always conveniently accessible for immediate use.

In particular, the invention relates to a garment type of carrier for fishing equipment with which the customary fishing tackle items, such as leaders, hooks, lures, and a selected supply of flies, can be kept in orderly array for quick and easy selection by the wearer of the carrier.

An object of the. invention is to provide an improved wearable carrier of the type indicated which will be easily adjustable on the wearer, will be simple and practical in construction, and which can be manufactured and sold at a sufi'icientlylow price to meet a popular demand.

A related object of the invention is to provide an equipment-carrying garment or vest which will not be uncomfortable or inconvenient to wear and which will not offer any hindrance to the wearer :in spite of the fact that a considerable supply of articles, making up a necessary or desirable equipment kit, is being carried.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a vest type of carrier garment in which there will be embodied a special portion designed and .arrangedlto-serve as an equipment shelf or table while being worn.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sportsmans vest with a convenient equipment-supporting shelf permanently attached to the vest .but capable of being swung up into inoperative or closed position when .not being used, and which will not render the vest and shelf uncomfortable to wear regardless of whether the shelf is in operative or inoperative position.

These objects and other advantages are attained by an equipment vest having embodied therein a special shelf portion, constructed, mounted and capable of functioningas hereinafter briefly described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure l is 'a perspective view of athe vesttor garment with the equipment shelf in normal closed -position,cthe wearer of the vest being indicated by broken lines;

Figure 2 is :a corresponding perspective 'view L'of the vest with the equipment shelf in open 01' toperative @position;

:Figure 3 is a front elevation, drawn to alarger scale, of 'th'evest with the equiprnentishelf in closed position;

Figure 4 is axview "on a larger scale, :of :the inside face of the equipment shelf by itself, which inside :face constitutes the top face of the shelf zwhen'the shelfais iinsopen or operative position;

Figure 5-is .a perspective view :ofthe'tubular-metal frame of the shelf, the rest of the shelf being indicated in broken lines;

Figure 6 is enlarged. elevation :of ithe frame lby .it-

self;

and

'Figure 7 is .a plan section on .line 7--7 of .Figure J6;

2,853,709 Patented Sept. 3Q, 1958 ice Figure 8 is a further enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation showing the construction at one of the bottom cornersof the shelf portion.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, the garment or vest in which the invention is illustrated as being embodied includes a front part 10 and a rear part 11 which are shaped more or less to correspond to similar parts of a loose fitting vest. The two parts 10 and 11 are sewed to gether at the shoulders 12, or these two parts 10 and 11 can be cut from a single piece of material. The garment may be made of any suitable material, preferably canvas or duck, and the edges are finished in any suitable manner, as for example, with binding strips of the same material. Below the arm spaces and at the bottom or waist line the front and rear parts 10-and 11 are adjustably connected together by pairs of straps 13 and 14 at each side. Thus, the body of the vest can be adjusted more or less to suit the wearers size and convenience. 1

The front part 10 of the garment carries an addition, indicated in general by the reference character 15, which, in open position, forms a shelf portion and which constitutes the important feature of the invention. This shelf forming portion 15 consists of a one-piece frame, later described, covered on both sides with material, preferably by the same material as used for the rest of the garment. This shelf-forming portion 15 is permanently stitched to the front body part 10 along the bottom. A pair of adjustable straps 16 normally connect the top of this shelf portion to the garment shoulders 12 so that, when so connected at the top, the shelf portion 15 will be held up against the chest of the wearer as illustrated in Figure 1. In the device illustrated, these shoulder straps 16 carry snap hooks 17 (Figure 3) which are adapted for engagement with rings 18 attached adjacent the top edge of .the shelf portion 15 on the outer face. Such connections enable the straps to be quickly and easily released when the shelf portion is to be used, as presently-e plained, although other fastenings for the shoulder straps would also serve satisfactorily.

An "outside pocket 20 preferably is provided on the front face 19 of the :shelf portion 15, as shown more clearly in Figure 3, so that when the vest is being worn with the shelf portion 15 in normal closed position, as shown in Figure l, the wearer will have a convenient front pocket. This pocket 20 may be closed by a flap by a pair of straps .34 and 35 attached to the sides of the shelf portion 15 and to the sides :of the front part 10. The wearer of the vest then has a shelf available for use which is entirely supported by the vest, and which is conveniently positioned in front of him and whichileaves his hands free.

The drawings show a fishermans vest embodying the invention since this is considered the most important use of the invention, and Figure 4 shows how the inside :face of the portion 15 maybe finished for this particular use. Thus, this inside face, which becomes the top face of the equipment shelf when the shelf .is used, is provided with pockets v21, .22, 23, 24 and .25, in which various items .of fishing equipment can be placed :so as to the accessible to the fisherman as needed. The upper .part of :this-face of the shelf is covered with amaterial, preferably sheep-skin wool, 26, on which the fisherman :may stick his supply of ifishing hooks or flies. :Sheepskin woolhas been found to be most satisfactory-as Ea coveringrforthiszpartof theitop of the shelf for :thepurposeof temporarily holding fishing hooks since :the wool tengages the points of the hooks and holds them without likelihood of their becoming inadvertently detached but at the same time each hook can easily be removed by a slight manual pull. Also the sheep-skin is Water-proof andthe wool on the sheep-skin is equally serviceable whether wet or dry. The convenience of having a selected assortment of hooks or flies arranged in this manner, in front of the fisherman, is an important and attractive feature of the equipment shelf and of the lnvention.

The frame 28 (Figures and 6) which provides the special shape and necessary rigidity for the shelf portion 15 is made from a single piece of lightweight metal tubing. Preferably aluminum tubing with an outer diameter of approximately one-half inch is used for this pur pose. The frame is formed substantially into the shape of a modified inverted U. However, the top or center portion 29-is also bowed outwardly so as to conform more or less to the transverse contour of the chest of the wearer. This enables the shelf to fit in close to the body ofthe wearer when the shelf portion 15 is in the normal closed position illustrated in Figure 1 and thus avoids the inconvenience and bulkiness which would result if the top 29 of the frame were straight across and thus caused the entire shelf portion to extend in a single plane.

The two bottom ends 30 and 31 (Figure 7) of the frame extend inwardly obliquely and substantially parallel to the corresponding ends of the top portion 29, but they extend only for a short distance sufiicient to furnish a better rest for the frame on the double row of stitching 27 by which the entire shelf portion is I connected to the bottom of the front part 10 of the vest. This stitching 27 thus constitutes in effect the flexible hinge mounting on which the shelf portion swings outwardly.

The fact that the frame terminates at the bottom on each'side, instead of extending all the way across at the bottom, makes it possible for the bottom of the shelf to fit the wearer comfortably in either position of the shelf and in spite of the substantial width of the shelf, and this is another important feature of the shelf construction and thus of the invention. At the same time the inwardly turned bottom ends 30 and 31 of the frame dis tribute the slight pressure of the bottom of the shelf against the wearer, when the shelf is, in open position, sufiiciently to avoid any possible discomfiture.

To protect the material of the vest and shelf covering from wear by the frame ends 30 and 31, and also to provide a cushioning guard over these otherwise sharp ends of the metal of the frame, these ends are covered with lengths of tubing 32 and 33, respectively, formed of heavy rubber or other suitably resilient and flexible material, as shown in Figure 8. These tubular coverings 32 and 33 extend beyond the respective ends 39 and 31 of the metal tubing for about an inch or more, and not only are a protection against the sharp ends of the metal tubing, but also are a contributing factor in the comfortable flexible hinge assembly by which the shelf is hingedly connected with the bottom of the front part of the vest.

The fabric or material with which the frame 28 is covered for completing the forming of the shelf is not stretched too tightly over the frame so that the entire shelf follows somewhat the outwardly bowed body of the top 29 of the frame. This is a further aid in enabling the shelf portion of the vest, when in closed position, to conform more or less to the body of the wearer. At the same time this does not in any way detract from the utility of the shelf when the shelf is in open position for use.

Variations in parts of the vest and minor modifications in the shelf itself would be possible without departing from the scope of the invention, but the form and construction of the equipment vest assembly as herein illustrated and described are regarded as the preferred embodiment of the invention, and the equipment vest exactly as described has been found to be very practical, convenient and serviceable for use by fishermen.

We claim:

1. An equipment vest including a front part and a back part, a shelf-forming addition normally extending over most of said front part, said addition hingedly connected at the bottomv to said vest and bowed slightly outwardly to fit against the body of the wearer, detachable members normally connecting the top of said addition with the shoulders of said 'vest so as to hold said addition against the chest of the wearer, straps holding said addition in oblique upwardly and outwardly extending position when said detachable members are detached, whereby said addition will then be in position to serve as an equipment shelf for the wearer, said' addition formed on a single frame member extending along in the top and sides of said addition, with the top of said frame member bowed outwardly, said frame-terminating in short inwardly obliquely turned ends at the bottom on both sides, and covering material extending over both faces of said frame and stitched to said vest below said frame ends. g

2. An equipment vest-including a front part and a back part, a shelf-forming addition normally extending over most of said front part, said addition hingedly connected at the bottom to the bottom of said vest and bowed slightly outwardly to fit against the body of the wearer, detachable straps normally holding the'top of said addition against the chest ofthe wearer, straps holding said addition in outwardly extending position when said first mentioned straps are detached, said addition formed on a frame member extending along in the top and sides of said addition, with the top of said frame member bowed outwardly, said frame having short inwardly turned ends at the bottom on both sides, said ends covered with flexible tubular material extending beyond said ends, covering material extending over both faces of said frame and stitched to said vest below said frame ends, the inner face of said addition having a partial surfacing of material suitable as a temporary mounting for fish hooks, whereby said addition will provide a fishing equipment shelf for the wearer when in outwardly extending position and at other times can be secured close against the body of the wearer.

3. An equipment vest including a front part and a back part, a shelf-forming addition normally extending over most of said front part, said addition hingedly connected at the bottom to the bottom of said vest and bowed slightly outwardly to fit against the body of the wearer, detachable straps normally holding the top of said addition against the chest of the wearer, straps holding said addition in outwardly extending position when said first mentioned straps are detached, said addition formedon a tubular frame member extending along in the top and sides of said addition, with the top of said frame member'\ bowed outwardly, said frame terminating in short in; Wardly obliquely turned ends at the bottom on both sides, said ends encased in a soft flexible covering extending a short distance beyond said ends, covering material extending over both faces of said frame and stitched to said vest below said frame ends, the inner face of said addition having pockets and a partial surfacing of sheepskin wool, whereby said addition will provide a fishing equipment shelf for the wearer when in outwardly extending position and at other times can be secured close against the body of the wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,711,677 Hansen May 7, 1929 2,456,411 Harvey Dec. 14, 1948 2,474,752. Montgomery June 28, 1949 2,717,391 Bracken Sept. 13, 1955 

